On May 10th, we are calling out for a nationwide display of Solidarity with the people of Albuquerque, James Boyd, The strikers behind prison walls, and all of those who have been murdered and imprisoned under the guise of ‘the justice system’. We are calling out for a nationwide display of resistance against a society that wishes to incarcerate us, kill us, beat us, and repress us. Spread this everywhere, and organize this everywhere! Link up with friends, large or small, and do the fuckin thing. It all matters. No to the police state! Fire to the prisons! Complete and total Solidarity

It’s early March in the Sandia Foothills of Albuquerque, and the police are approaching a campsite in a seriously militarized and forceful fashion. James Boyd, who had a past of suffering from mental health difficulties, pulled out two small knives, fearfully responding to the aggressive police presence. A nearly 3 hour long standoff ensued, until James Boyce agreed to surrender the camping knives, granted that they wouldn’t harm him. As his back was turned, and he was gathering his belongings from the campsite ready to surrender, a member of the APD murmured “Do it”. The roar of explosions from concussion grenades, and gunshots from laser guided assault rifles, and beanbag rounds echoed throughout the evening air. These echoes were the sounds of a situation that ended fatally for homeless man, James Boyd. He was shot by the bullets of police, and then as he lay motionless on the ground, they proceeded to fire beanbag rounds at him before unleashing their attack dogs on his bloodied body. The Albuquerque Police Department was involved in 37 shootings since 2010, 23 of them having deadly outcomes.

These echoes of murder that rang throughout the Albuquerque air that night were not unfamiliar sounds for those of us who belong to the less privileged and less obedient classes in this society. From the murder of Oscar Grant in Oakland, to the recent police killing of Jesus 'Chuy' Huerta in Durham,NC. We are regularly under the threat of violation, harassment, and incarceration in this nation. We walk the streets, and are under the constant threat of a ‘justice’ system that works to regularize our criminalization. Politicians lie, and say the police state must exist because it is for our own safety. Rarely do we ever feel safe, or comforted by the excessive police presence that has been sweeping this nation for years. This is because the expansion of the existence of police isn’t meant for our safety; it exists to serve the privileged classes and politicians by keeping us under the never ending threat of violence. They patrol our neighborhoods, and throw us in overcrowded prisons (U.S. has the highest incarceration rate, globally), and if we show any slight signs of resistance to being isolated in their jail cells, they will have no remorse for racking up another number on their body count. This is why James Boyd was shot and labeled violent for camping ‘illegally’. It is why Sunday’s protests were labeled violent for resisting their police state. James Boyd stepped out of line by resisting the legitimacy of their ‘law & order’ and was met with deadly force. The people of Albuquerque stepped out of line by resisting the legitimacy of their murderous routines, and we were also met with that same militarized force. It’s overwhelmingly clear who the police work for in American society.

We must stand up and resist this police state. Appealing to politicians is simply not enough because our desires for freedom can never be met by their system. The politicians & police speak a big game to calm us down, and keep business as usual as functioning. So it’s no wonder how they can easily promote police violence one minute by declaring “they showed great restraint”, then later contradict themselves with false concern. This concern is not a concern for those of us living under the heel of this prison society, but a concern that we may not always be satisfied with the existence of this prison society. Our desires can only be met by learning how to defend one another, and learning how to support one another in solidarity. We will only be weakened if we allow ourselves to be manipulated by the false concerns of politicians. Freedom begins with acknowledging that there are no solutions offered by the system because it is the system itself that is rigged against our peaceful existence.

On May 10th, we are calling out for a nationwide display of Solidarity with the people of Albuquerque, James Boyd, The strikers behind prison walls, and all of those who have been murdered and imprisoned under the guise of ‘the justice system’. We are calling out for a nationwide display of resistance against a society that wishes to incarcerate us, kill us, beat us, and repress us. Spread this everywhere, and organize this everywhere! Link up with friends, large or small, and do the fuckin thing. It all matters. No to the police state! Fire to the prisons! Complete and total Solidarity!